To Fly Free in Shadows
by R-Kives
Summary: Ranma and Kasumi are on the run and go to see Kasumi's 'little sister' in England for help. Who's this previously unknown sister? Why, it just happens to be Sir Integra Wingates Hellsing! Dealing with the undead was never this chaotic, was it?
1. Surprise Visit

To Fly Free in Shadows

By R-Kives

There are cities all over the world that are, perhaps unjustifiably, presumed to have certain characteristics. New York for instance, has become associated with wide spread crime not to mention giant pizza eating turtles which the authorities have gotten tired of denying are helping lower crime rates or even exist for that matter. Tokyo is thought to be populated by magical school girls that are capable of fighting off demonic invasions and any local over the age of sixty is a martial arts master. This is more often then not a result of bad PR, too many people believing what they see or hear about from others without confirming it for themselves. This can also be applied to certain individuals who others see fit to judge without getting to know them first.

First time tourists to London expect it to be raining when they get there. They come loaded with umbrellas and raincoats fully expecting to be washed away by flood waters the moment they step off the plane. These people are usually disappointed, not to mention weighed down by all their needless preparations. Two individuals currently walking down a London street underneath an umbrella would have loved to be proven wrong about the weather in London. Yes, it's another rainy day in London. It's raining so much that the elder of the two could have sworn that she saw a fish fall out of the sky in front of her before swimming down into the sewers.

"Where is this place? You'd think that a mansion would be easy to find but nooooo, not us no. It has to take us most of the day to even find the street leading to it much less find it!"

The woman gently squeezed the arm she was clutching which belonged to the slightly younger man next to her. The man stopped complaining and gave an apologetic smile at her.

"Sorry Kasumi, I'm just tired of all this rain. It's been raining since we got here. Doesn't it ever stop?"

"Don't worry Ranma, we're almost there, in fact I think that's it." She said as she pointed at a large building that slowly came into view.

A large mansion in the middle of a large area of land surrounded by a high fence could be seen in the heavy downpour of rain. Ranma looked up at the closed gates and read the name above them. "Finally! C'mon let's get inside."

Kasumi tried to push open the gates but they refused to budge. "Oh my, the gates are locked. Perhaps we should call first?"

"No need for that Kasumi, let's just knock on their door." said Ranma as he wrapped an arm securely around Kasumi's waist before making a standing jump over the gates. The moment their feet touched down on the ground, an alarm sounded and within moments they were surrounded by armed soldiers. Ranma simply smiled at the soldiers and started to step out from under the umbrella. Kasumi stopped him before he could do anything.

"They're just doing their job Ranma." She said to him gently, "There's no need to fight them…please?"

Ranma sighed as a Kasumi directed a gentle pleading look at him. He relented and decided to let Kasumi take charge for now. "Fine but if things don't work out…"

"Then we'll do things your way."

Kasumi noticed an elderly gentleman walk through the circle of soldiers around them and smiled at him. She recognized him despite the number of years since she had last seen him. "Uncle Walter! It's so nice to see you again. You seem to be in good health."

Walter stopped a few feet away from the couple and peered at her through the rain. He had neglected to carry an umbrella in case his skills with his wires were needed. A few moments later, his face burst into a warm smile. "Why if it isn't little Kasumi!" he said as he stepped closer while making a gesture to the soldiers to stand down. They lowered their weapons at his signal but remained ready in case anything happened.

"Sir Integra will be delighted to see you again! Who is your friend? Oh my" Ranma lifted an eyebrow at Walter's words, "Let's get you inside first before anything else, please follow me."

He led the way while the soldiers silently returned to their posts although a few of them cast some curious looks at the two following behind Walter. Ranma and Kasumi followed Walter into the mansion where he immediately called for several maids to see to their guests. Walter turned to the two and smiled at the bemused look on the young mans face as the maids seemed flustered at Ranma's presence. The umbrella had kept the rain from soaking his head but the rest of him was drenched. His clothes were soaked and clung to his body. Walter noticed that Kasumi seemed to have a hint of disapproval at the way one of maids made as if to dry the young man with a towel.

Kasumi took the towel from the blushing young girl and proceeded to help Ranma get dry in a way that stated that he was hers. Her manner was an instant challenge to the maids, daring them to do anything about it. The girls decided to let the matter go although they looked enviously at the way Kasumi could run her hands over Ranma in the process of helping him get dry. Ranma was content to let Kasumi do as she pleased. There was a time not long ago when her actions would have freaked him out to no end. That was no longer the case and he enjoyed the care with which Kasumi tended to him. He gave a loving smile at Kasumi while noticing a maid who was watching him go weak at the knees.

Walter gave a small cough and told them to make themselves comfortable in the living room while he notified Sir Integra of their surprise arrival. He made his to her office and stopped in front of her door and gave a polite knock. He entered a few seconds later at Sir Integra's command to enter. Integra sat at her desk dealing with the paperwork. She looked up at Walter expecting a report on why the alarms had sounded earlier. Since it hadn't taken him long to deal with the problem she didn't expect it to have been very important but she liked to be kept aware of what happened in her home.

"So what set off the alarms Walter?" she asked him curiously as she pushed back from her desk and tilted her chair so that the front legs left the floor.

Walter waited a few seconds to judge how Sir Integra had balanced her chair. She used to sit like this as a child but he thought he had broken her of the habit. Fortunately he remembered how he broke her of it before. When the chair seemed to be just short of causing Sir Integra to topple backwards, he answered her question. "It appears Miss Kasumi Tendo has arrived to visit along with a young man I presume to be her boyfriend."

Walter smirked at the loud thump as Sir Integra toppled backwards out of shock and bumped the back of her head on the floor.

Curtain Call

R-Kives: I know I should be working more on MMSS but since I've been having a little trouble with it, I decided to write this story that just wouldn't let me be. I hope you all enjoy it!


	2. Happy Memories

Disclaimer: I should have mentioned this in the first chapter but I own neither Hellsing nor Ranma and make no monetary profit from this fanfiction whatsoever. This is done for pleasure, pure and simple.

* * *

_Previously on To Fly Free in Shadows

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_

"So what set off the alarms Walter?" she asked him curiously as she pushed back from her desk and tilted her chair so that the front legs left the floor.

Walter waited a few seconds to judge how Sir Integra had balanced her chair. She used to sit like this as a child but he thought he had broken her of the habit. Fortunately he remembered how he broke her of it before. When the chair seemed to be just short of causing Sir Integra to topple backwards, he answered her question. "It appears Miss Kasumi Tendo has arrived to visit along with a young man I presume to be her boyfriend."

Walter smirked at the loud thump as Sir Integra toppled backwards out of shock and bumped the back of her head on the floor.

* * *

_and now the continuation...

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_

Integra quickly got to her feet and looked at Walter with a look of shock still on her face. "Kasumi is here!" she half-shrieked at him, "What is she doing here!"

Walter did his best to keep his face neutral but the sight of Integra looking flustered and about to panic was too much for the old man. A small smile crept onto his face which went unnoticed by Integra. "Yes, Kasumi is downstairs in the living room with a young man who seems to be her boyfriend though they might be more then that, I haven't asked them any details regarding the matter. I thought it might be best if they were made comfortable before doing so. The rain has been coming down quite heavily tonight."

Integra was already at the door and about to head downstairs when she caught sight of her reflection in a mirror. The business suit that she customarily wore to help project a modern, assertive and somewhat masculine appearance seemed to leap out at her. "I can't see her like this!" she said in a panic stricken voice as she turned towards Walter, "Quickly find me a dress! I need to change immediately."

"Sir Integra, I doubt any of your old dresses would still fit you." Replied Walter slowly, "You haven't worn anything remotely…erm…feminine since you took control of Hellsing." He saw her face fall. "Perhaps one of the maids may have something you can borrow?" A hopeful look bloomed on her face. "I shall go inquire about the matter shall I?"

"Yes please, Walter." She replied with some more composure then she had seconds ago, "and thank you, I'll be waiting in my room but please be quick about it, I don't want to keep Kasumi waiting."

She quickly went to her room and began shedding her business suit as soon as she closed the door. She looked at her reflection in the mirror of her dressing table. She frowned at the state of her hair and picked up her hair brush before sitting down. Her mind began to wonder back to days long since past while she brushed her hair, trying to straighten it. Her mother had been good friends with Kasumi's mother and despite the long distance, the two women had kept in close touch and her mother regularly visited Japan to see 'Aunt Kimiko.' Integra would sometimes accompany her and that was how she first met Kasumi and later, Nabiki. The death of Aunt Kimiko had occurred a year before the death of her own mother. Their visits had stopped since then but Integra had tried to keep in contact with Kasumi and Nabiki.

Kasumi may have been two years younger than Integra but she had always looked up to Kasumi. There had always been a 'big sisterly' quality to her that always made Integra do her best to meet Kasumi's expectations of her. Kasumi had helped ease Integra's worries when she had taken over Hellsing. The phone bills that arrived from the long chats the two of them had shared had almost given poor Walter a heart attack. Sadly, she had had little contact with either of the two Tendo sisters in the past three years due to the freak chip incidents. Thankfully things had quieted down in the past six months. The two sisters had also been involved with something that had kept them busy as well. Integra wondered whether the man Kasumi was with had had anything to do with it.

Integra remembered that Nabiki was always the smartest out of the three of them despite being the youngest of the group. Nabiki was also the one who more often than not got the three of them into trouble. When Nabiki had learned about the value of money, the three girls had wound up getting into even deeper trouble than they had before. Nabiki had convinced Kasumi and her to start a monster hunting business to get enough money to buy the ice cream shop down the street. Integra really regretted telling Nabiki the same stories her father used to tell her about her family after that fiasco. Their club managed to solve their one and only case right before their mothers found out about it.

In any other city, a group of three little children setting up a monster hunting club would have been just a case of childish imagination. In Nerima, the three girls had found themselves getting caught up in a case almost immediately. Their mothers had gone beyond merely being angry when they found out about it. They were justifiably enraged, at both the girls and the man who had actually hired them. Their club was promptly shut down and the reward money, they had actually managed to catch the monster who had turned out to just be a disgruntled ex-employee in a realistic but silly looking costume; was used to repair all the damages that had occurred from the girls earlier attempts to catch the so called monster.

Integra had truly enjoyed spending time with both sisters during her visits. She had even met Akane when she was still very young though she didn't think Akane would remember ever meeting Integra. It was shame that Akane had turned out…differently…then her older sisters, at least according to the letters and e-mails they had exchanged. Now, out of the blue, Kasumi shows up at her home, with a man no less! Integra couldn't wait to hear what Kasumi and Nabiki had been up to in the past three years. The e-mails that the three of them had sent each other hadn't been very informative and often months in between replies. Integra was definitely curious about what was going on. Now they could talk face to face for the first time in years.

Integra stopped brushing her hair and looked at her eyes in the reflection of her mirror as a thought struck her. '_I wonder how she'll react when she sees me? When she sees what I have become?_' She was broken out of her thoughts by a knock on the door and the voice of a maid telling her that Walter had asked the maid to see her. Sir Integra Wingates Hellsing tore her gaze from the red eyes in the mirror and asked the maid to enter.

* * *

_Curtain Call_

_

* * *

_

R-Kives: I would like to say before anyone points out how short this is, that unlike MMSS, To Fly Free has no definite end in mind.

Arcee: So you don't know where you're going with this story?

R-Kives: Nope, just a few vague ideas. I wrote this story because even though I am temporarily stumped on MMSS, I just needed to work on a story. This is the result, because of this the chapters may wind up being kinda short from time to time eheh

Arcee: Sounds more like an excuse to be lazy to me...

R-Kives: Oh keep quiet! Anyway, this story probably won't be quite as serious as MMSS since I hoping to add some humour into it although whether I can pull that off remains to be seen.

Arcee: Right...(looking guilty) um hey boss...you remember how you wanted me to do some research for you on Hellsing?

R-Kives: Yeeeesssssss...I wanted to get a better idea on the characters so I went back and watched the anime again while I told you to look for more detailed information on them. Why?

Arcee: Um, well the thing is...I sorta...made a minor mistake and um...

R-Kives: (Sees a few hundred ghouls stumbling towards them) Arcee, when we get out of this, you and I are going to have a 'talk'...but for now...lets get out of here! (runs away from the ghouls as fast as possible)

Arcee: Wait for me! (Quickly follows as the ghouls start heading in her direction)


	3. I can explain really!

Disclaimer: I own neither Hellsing nor Ranma or any other series that may appear and make no monetary profit from this fanfiction whatsoever. This is done for pleasure, pure and simple.

* * *

Ten Minutes Later, Living Room

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As Integra walked into the living room, she left behind her a trail of shocked house staff members who couldn't believe what they had just seen. Integra now wore a (borrowed) dark green formal dress and her hair was noticeably straighter then it normally was. She moved gracefully into the room instead of affecting her usual aggressive stride. She almost tripped at the sight she saw on the couch of the living room. Integra was shocked to see her 'big sister' Kasumi cuddled up against an, admittedly handsome, young mans chest. Kasumi looked up from where she was seated on Ranma's lap, looking very happy. The expression of Ranma's face could best be described as peaceful and Integra thought she had heard the sound of purring in the room just a few seconds earlier. 

Kasumi was quick to stand up and move towards Integra. She embraced Integra in a sisterly hug and felt Integra return the action a few seconds later when Integra wrapped her arms around Kasumi. She let go and the two women separated from each other. Integra felt herself become a little tense as she noticed Kasumi was looking her up and down. She let out a small sigh at Kasumi's smile of approval at Integra's appearance. Unnoticed by Integra, Ranma gave a small smile at the scene. He remembered what Kasumi and Nabiki had told him about Integra and their relationship with her. He was happy to see that it was just as it had been described to him.

Integra was the first to break the silence between them. "Kasumi, it's so good to see you again!" she said to Kasumi warmly, "I've missed you so much."

"I've missed you as well Integra." Kasumi replied just as warmly, "I'm sorry to drop in on you like this."

"You have nothing to be sorry about. You're always welcome here." Integra reassured Kasumi and then looked at her with some curiosity, "This is certainly a pleasant surprise and I don't mind you being here but can you tell me just why you are here? And who's your friend? Is he your boyfriend or maybe something more?" Integra asked her, a teasing lilt to her voice.

Ranma blushed a little at Integra's questions. Kasumi blushed a little as well but neither one denied Integra's implications. "He's something more…" she replied to Integra with a small naughty grin that had Integra raising an eyebrow in quiet shock at her normally reserved 'big sister' Kasumi. "Let's sit down and I'll try to explain what's happened over the last three years. I know Nabiki and I haven't really explained much in our messages but we weren't really sure what to tell you." Kasumi paused and seemed to gather her thoughts. "A lot of what we've seen and been through is…more than a little unbelievable."

Integra cracked a smile and was about to reply that she was no stranger to unbelievable happenings herself. That was when one of the reasons for her familiarity with the unbelievable chose that moment to return from their nightly patrol. Alucard's head phased its way through the ceiling of the room. "I didn't know you were expecting guests…Master." Alucard noticed that both of Integra's visitors didn't seem to be surprised in the slightest at his sudden appearance.

Integra was caught off balance by their seeming acceptance of what others would find a strange event. A few seconds later saw Ceres attempt the same thing only to float through the ceiling instead. "Oh damn! Not again!" Ceres managed to curse out loud before flipping herself right side up, becoming solid and landing on an unoccupied chair. Integra wondered to herself just how she was going to explain this to Kasumi and her friend.

The young man simply looked up at Alucard before looking at Ceres and finally turning back to Alucard who still remained visible only from the shoulders upwards while projecting out of the ceiling. "Now that's a pretty good trick." The young man said to Alucard, his enthusiasm unhidden, "Don't suppose you'd teach me how to do that too?" The young man asked him while Kasumi, Integra noticed, simply smiled lovingly at the young man as he asked the question as if it was something she knew he would do.

Integra expected Alucard to simply laugh in the young mans face or something similar and tell him that a mere human wouldn't be able to do what a true vampire took for granted. Integra prepared herself to act as a mediator between the two. She noticed that the young man seemed to have the same air of pride that Alucard carried himself with. '_This is not going to be pretty…_' Integra thought to herself, imagining the two men about to start an argument before they had even been introduced to each other. She noticed that Kasumi herself didn't seem worried about the young mans safety despite Alucard's casual show of inhuman power.

Alucard surprised Integra when instead of doing as she expected, he floated down out of the ceiling and landed in front of the young man. Alucard peered intently at the young man as if he recognized him from somewhere. The young man didn't seem to be too concerned about Alucard's scrutiny and dropped into a relaxed posture. Alucard smiled to himself and reached into his coat to pull out something. Integra almost jumped Alucard then and there, afraid that he was about to shoot the young man. She stopped herself when she saw Alucard pull out a japanese magazine instead. She could see the title read 'Nerima Martial Arts Monthly' and there seemed to be a picture of the young man on the front.

'_He's famous?_' Integra thought to herself, '_Why would Alucard have a japanese magazine on Martial Arts? He isn't the type to read magazines…unless they happen to be about firearms._' She noticed that the young man seemed to tense up at the sight of the magazine. '_Now why would he be worried about something like that? Perhaps he didn't want to run into a fan?_'

"You're Ranma Saotome aren't you?" Alucard asked him with a tone approaching respect. "You are the human who managed to kill Saffron, the so called 'Phoenix God'?

"Yeah…" the young man, Ranma admitted warily, "A life was at stake and he left me no other choice. It's just Ranma now by the way."

"I see, well Ranma, I think you might be able to learn it." Alucard said to him to the continued shock of Integra. "Although usually it'd be impossible for a human but you may prove me wrong."

Ceres interrupted their conversation with a puzzled question, looking as confused by the current situation as Integra felt. "Master, I thought you said that only vampires could learn that technique?"

"Master?" Ranma repeated.

"Vampires? Oh my…" Kasumi said softly.

Integra cursed under her breath and looked at Kasumi and Ranma who looked at her with curiosity, "I can explain…" she said to them, feeling nervous and afraid, unsure of how the two would react when she told them the truth. Integra feared Kasumi's reaction the most but she wouldn't lie to Kasumi. "Let's all sit down and I'll tell you what's going on."

They all sat down and Integra looked at Kasumi, "You know I've always said that my family had a secret?" Integra continued at Kasumi's nod, "Well, I'll start at the beginning with a story you might be familiar with, about a man named Hellsing…"

Integra felt the gentle probing of Alucard's mind interrupt her, '_What's wrong Integra?_' He asked her silently in her mind, '_I have never felt so much fear from you since the day we first met…_'

'_I'll explain later…_' she thought back to him silently before continuing her story.

Ceres simply sat quietly in her seat as she listened to Sir Integra tell her story. She had heard most of it before and had even lived the more recent parts herself. She wondered just who the two guests were and why Sir Integra seemed to be so worried about their reactions. Now that Ceres was more comfortable with being what she was and willing to drink blood without having to be forced, her Master was more open with her. He had begun to teach her about what she could do as one of his 'children'. She felt her lessons were progressing well although Alucard did tell her that she was still a little slow to pick up some of them.

Alucard had yet to offer Ceres a chance to drink his blood for the second time. Privately, well as private as she could be where her Master was concerned, she felt that she wasn't ready to be 'freed' yet. Ceres hoped to complete her lessons before taking that next step away from humanity. Her attention was drawn back to Sir Integra's story when it reached the part where Alucard had visited Sir Integra inside her cell. Ceres' newly learned skills in reading emotions picked up on Sir Integra's growing unease as she told her story. Her two guests on the other hand seemed to believe Sir Integra and weren't worried about being told that they were currently in the room with at least two vampires.

"I…I accepted Alucard's offer. Please forgive me Kasumi, I, I…" Integra had dropped her gaze from Kasumi's and broke down, afraid of what she would see. Alucard made to embrace Integra and comfort her but Kasumi beat him to it. Kasumi wrapped her arms around Integra and whispered soothing words to her. Kasumi's words would have been unheard by a normal human but of the two humans in the room, only Kasumi was 'normal'. Ranma looked uncomfortable at the scene in front of him. Ceres noticed his discomfort; her Master didn't look like he was paying attention to anyone but Integra. She decided to see if maybe Ranma might want to talk somewhere else.

"Ranma, wasn't it?" Ceres asked him, "Why don't we leave them alone for now? Would you like to go outside? The rain has stopped."

Ranma looked at her gratefully. "Yeah, I'd like that um Ceres right?" He walked over to Kasumi and softly touched her shoulder. She looked up and nodded at him. Ranma nodded back with a small smile and turned to Ceres, "Well, let's go."

Ceres led him out to the back of the mansion where the moon shone down on the still wet grass. She wondered what to do now and thought about asking him about himself. Ranma interrupted her thoughts before she could voice them. "Hey Ceres, can I ask you a question?"

"I suppose, what is it?"

"Well I was wondering; can you do any of that stuff that Integra said that guy Alucard could do? You know, turn into bats, grow back missing arms and all that stuff?"

"I can do some of that." Ceres replied, wondering where he was going with this, "I'm still learning really. Why do you ask?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to spar?" Ranma asked her a little shyly, "Vampires don't seem too different from Saffron and well…its been a while since I had a decent workout. I was hoping maybe…"

Ceres thought about it for a few seconds. A year ago, she would have been upset at him but she had changed a lot since then. She decided to go along with the offer. Normal humans wouldn't stand a chance against a vampire after all but her Master had implied that Ranma might be an exception. She was curious about her Master's reaction to Ranma earlier and it wasn't like she'd be going all out against him. She'd hold back enough not to hurt him and it wasn't as if he could actually hurt her. She did need the practice after all. She nodded at him, "Alright but don't expect me to use all my strength, I don't want to hurt you too badly."

Ranma gave her a cocky smile in reply, "Don't worry about that, you won't even be able to hit me." He said to her confidently.

"Oh really? Well we'll see about that." Ceres replied to him. '_You're in for a big surprise Ranma if you think you're going to win._'

The two of them got ready to face each other, the bright light of the full moon shining down on them. Unnoticed by either of them, the face of the moon seemed to turn red and the light took on a red hue.

* * *

Curtain Call

* * *

Another chapter finished at last! I know some people might wonder about Alucards reaction to Ranma especially with how he treated him. I just feel that Alucard would have some respect for Ranma if he knew even just a little about Ranma's life. Since he reads the Nerima Martial Arts Monthly (An 'N.Tendo' Publication heh heh) he knows quite a bit about it although not everything certainly.

I've only watched the Anime but the impression I got of Alucard was of a proud man or vampire rather who respects someone who refuses to quit no matter the odds against them. When he first met Integra, she refused to let Alucard intimidate her and look what happened. Alucard is very proud of what he is and someone like Ranma, well, he's definitely proud and his sense of honor would probably strike a cord with a 'true vampire' like Alucard.

As for Integra, she's a woman who's been through a hell of a lot and her breaking down like that in front of a woman she considers her big sister is understandable. I mean, she was betrayed by a member of the knights. Her organization is accused of attacking the queen and set up by the traitor.She's abandoned and THEN she gets locked up for helping to save London? I mean come on! That would be enough to make a lot of people just give up all faith in humanity! Besides I always thought that Integra accepted Alucards offer at the end but that's just me.

I'll delve more into what happened to the Hellsing Organization after the anime ended sometime soon. Now about some of the reviews I've recieved...

Wonderbee31:- Congrats! You certainly hit it right on the nail! I did plan on their being new additions to the Hellsing 'family' from the beginning. Now I know that this is a bit of a spoiler but did anyone really think I'd really kill off Ranma, Kasumi and Nabiki so easily? I will eventually reveal how Kasumi and Ranma got together but that'll be a while yet but as for the 'Nerima Scoobettes'... I don't know...would anyone else like to see a story on what happened on their first and only case?

Ranma Hibki:- I'm not sure about a prank war...but given how destructive those two can get in their fights, can you just imagine what would happen if they went at it in a no holds barred battle royale? Buh Bye London!

A.Nonymous:- Ranma is still cursed, so don't worry about that. I just didn't mention that Ranma was warming up the rain enough to not trigger the change with his ki (actually, it's more a case of me forgetting to put that bit in oops!) No zombie pig or ghoul panda but that's because I've got something better (or worse rather) in mind for them! This fic will be a little hard on some of the characters then MMSS so you have been warned!

To everyone else who reviewed this story, I'd like to say thank you very much, I really appreciate it so please keep reviewing! To cap this chapter off, here's an Omake!

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OMAKE

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Ceres led him out to the back of the mansion where the moon shone down on the still wet grass. She wondered what to do now and thought about asking him about himself. Ranma interrupted her thoughts before she could voice them. "Hey Ceres, can I ask you a question?" 

"I suppose, what is it?"

"Well... since you're a vampire and all..." Ranma asked as he began to blush, "Does that mean you were a virgin when you died?"

Ceres' face turned bright red at Ranma's question. "I was saving myself for the right man! You insensitive perverted jerk!" She shouted at him before pulling out her cannon from nowhere and blasting Ranma with an incendinary shell.

Ranma went flying into the distance as he shouted back, "You are so uncute you undead tomboy!"

Ceres seemed to burst into flames when she heard him. She took off after him while loading a depleted uranium shell into her canon, "You take that back! I am NOT uncute!Get back here! RANMA NO BAKA!"


	4. Ranma & Kasumi's Choice

Disclaimer: I own neither Hellsing nor Ranma or any other series that may appear and make no monetary profit from this fanfiction whatsoever. This is done for pleasure, pure and simple.

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Hellsing Mansion, Living Room

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They had spent the last half hour listening to Integra talk to Kasumi about all the feelings she had kept bottled up inside her for the past few years. Kasumi was mentally berating herself for having kept so little contact with Integra while she had been going through such a rough time. Integra had been burdened by far too much responsibility for one person for far too long. Kasumi knew how much stress one could come under from trying to run a small household like the Tendo family home. Integra had been running a multinational organization from the shadows while having to deal with a group of men that, from hearing Integra's descriptions of them, weren't much better then a cross between Genma and her father. (A.N: In case it isn't _too_ obvious, I really, _really_ hated those weak-willed, backstabbing, hypocritical, cowardly, chauvinistic and above all completely and utterly useless, worthless piles of that called themselves the 'Knights of the Round Table' or something like that. Expect me to really give them a very rough ride in this story. Nya ha ha ha ha ha!) 

Alucard may have been a centuries old vampire but he had long gotten into the habit of letting his emotions have free reign of his features. When he was happy, you'd know about it. If he was angry, you would have more than enough warning to start running. In that respect, Alucard was very similar to Ranma. He simply had little experience with hiding his emotions. Where Ranma lacked the social training for such a feat, Alucard saw little use for it. That is until now. He knew that Integra had yet to fully come to terms with her new status as a vampire. He had sensed it on the edge of her thoughts for months now but he hadn't confronted her about it. Just like Ceres had, Alucard had thought that given enough time Integra would eventually accept what she now was.

The truth of the matter was that Alucard didn't know how to deal with Integra's emotions on the subject. He had taken to training Ceres instead of dealing with the matter. Inwardly, he felt it was strange that after wanting to turn a Hellsing for so long, after wanting to turn **her** for so long…now that he had accomplished it, he was at a loss as to what to do with her now. He could have simply taken her as a lover like he had done with others in the past. It wouldn't have been the first time that he had turned a woman simply to use her for his pleasure before setting her free to roam the world. Alucard knew that Integra herself had often thought of and dreamt of sleeping with him since her teenage years. Why not take his pleasure and simply leave? As her Vampire Master, he could force her to release him from the service of Hellsing. So why didn't he simply do it? What was stopping him from doing so?

Kasumi had done her best to help Integra come to terms with becoming a vampire despite how much Integra felt she had betrayed her family heritage by becoming what they despised most. It seemed to have worked for now but Kasumi knew that she and Integra would need to talk more about it eventually. At least Kasumi had managed to convince Integra that just because she was now a vampire didn't mean that Kasumi would turn away from her. Kasumi didn't see any problem with Integra becoming a vampire. In Kasumi's mind, Integra was still her 'little sister' from overseas and no amount of weirdness would change that. Besides, Kasumi had grown up in Nerima; vampires weren't really such a frightening concept when you dealt with demons and numerous other supernatural entities on a weekly basis.

Kasumi looked up at Alucard who was standing beside them with a neutral expression on his face. Having grown up with Nabiki the so-called 'Ice Queen' of Nerima, Kasumi knew how to read a poker face. It was why none of the other housewives in Nerima wanted to play cards with Kasumi. She was just too good at it. She saw that Alucard's feelings for Integra were more than that of a servant and their master. She also saw that Alucard himself hadn't realized it yet or realized how Integra felt about him. Integra had certainly given Kasumi enough clues during her story. She wondered whether she should try playing matchmaker between them or simply let them work it out for themselves. She would have to discuss it with Nabiki when she finished her business in Nerima and ask her opinion on the matter.

Kasumi felt that, in a way, Integra's relationship with Alucard was a parallel of Ranma's former relationship with Akane. Alucard had been an unwelcome but necessary addition to Integra's life at first. Ranma had been an unexpected and according to Akane, a most unwelcome addition to her life. Much like Ranma had with Akane, Alucard had saved Integra from danger time and time again, always protecting her, defending her honor, even though he seemed to go out of his way to anger her sometimes. Ranma did it because of how he'd been raised; Alucard did it because it was a part of his nature. The difference between the two relationships was that Integra had admitted, if only to herself, that she loved Alucard. Something that Akane couldn't or perhaps wouldn't admit to herself, letting her pride rule her life even more than it had ruled Ranma's life until a few months ago.

Kasumi just held Integra close until she felt her sobs begin to subside. Integra kept her head buried in Kasumi's chest, letting herself draw comfort from Kasumi's presence. Moments later Kasumi noticed that Integra had drifted off to sleep. "We should let her rest for now." Kasumi told him as she placed Integra into a laid back position on the couch.

"My master has had much to deal with." Alucard replied before hesitating for a moment, "Thank you…for helping her."

Kasumi gave him a questioning look. "Why didn't you talk to her about it?" She asked him softly, no hint of accusation in her voice, merely curiosity, "She would have wanted you to comfort her, you know?"

"I…have been busy, teaching Ceres what she needs to know as a vampire." Alucard said, turning away from her and looking out a window.

"Isn't Integra a vampire as well now?" Kasumi replied, "Doesn't she need to know as much as Ceres? You should think more about your excuses, Alucard. What's the real reason?"

"I am not making excuses!" He hissed at her, trying not to waken Integra, "I…"

Alucard was cut off by a large explosion that rocked the mansion. Integra was instantly awake and sat up quickly just as the alarms began sounding. Kasumi was already at a window trying to see what was going on. Alucard never even noticed her moving which surprised him. Kasumi could see smoke coming from the back of the mansion but she couldn't make out what exactly was happening. She turned around at the sound of the door being opened and saw Walter come through it. She noticed that Alucard was standing over Integra protectively and almost smiled at how similar the two of them resembled Ranma and Akane in that moment.

"Walter! What's going on?" Integra asked him angrily, "What was that explosion?"

"Sir Integra! It appears the mansion is being attacked!" Walter replied.

"What! Who dares attack the Hellsing mansion!" Integra shouted out in anger at his answer. "How many hostiles? It better not be any more bloody Freaks like those damn Valentines!"

"According to the reports, it seems to be a pack of Wolf Freaks." Walter told her, "They're attacking Miss Victoria and the young man. We can confirm there were at least a dozen of them. However the young man and miss Victoria are dealing with six of them and the troops have managed to keep the rest out of the mansion itself."

Integra and Alucard looked surprised to hear the report while Kasumi, Walter noticed, seemed to nod as if she had expected it. She didn't seem to be reacting to the situation at all. Kasumi looked as calm and composed as if nothing out of the ordinary were happening. Integra quickly got over her surprise and turned to Alucard with an angry scowl.

"Alucard! Show those Freaks what happens to any who challenge the Hellsing Organization!" She ordered him.

Alucard smiled at the fire in Integra's eyes, "Of course, my master." He said to her before disappearing into thin air.

* * *

Outside the mansion, shortly before the attack

* * *

Ranma was currently enjoying himself. His match with Ceres was going great. Now that he no longer subscribed to Genma's idiotic ideas regarding women, Ranma was willing to actually spar with Ceres properly. Instead of just trying to dodge and block all of her attacks, he was actually retaliating against them. They had begun the match by simply testing each others limits. Now, almost half an hour later, Ranma was beginning to use attacks and blows on Ceres that he normally reserved for people like Herb and Ryoga. When he heard about what Alucard could do, Ranma had compared a vampire to being akin to someone like Saffron. Someone that was dependent on just having powers and phenomenal healing abilities with little physical strength to balance it out. He was finding out that he had been mistaken. Ceres could take what she dished out unlike Saffron whose physical capabilities had been pretty weak compared to the average Neriman fighter. 

Ceres on the other hand was surprised that Ranma was still going. She had thought at first that this would just be a quick match. Ranma had shown her how wrong she was to have assumed that simply because he was human, she would automatically win. Ceres didn't have the martial arts skills that Ranma had. She had been trained as a police officer and the majority of her training had been in firearms. When it came to fighting, all she knew were mostly holds to subdue suspects. She could punch and she knew a few kicks but that was about it. She had thought that she could just overpower Ranma but he had sunk that idea pretty quick. Holds were useless if you couldn't actually catch your target. Her punches and kicks were either anticipated easily or just plain blocked. Whenever she thought she had him he'd just get faster and attack harder.

It was currently a stalemate between them. Ceres had been hoping to overpower Ranma but he was too skilled for that to happen. They had been using purely physical attacks so far. It seemed like their match was going to reach another level in intensity when Ceres suddenly stopped midway through a combo of punches and looked to an area of trees close to them. Ranma had been so surprised by her unexpected action that he barely stopped himself from capitalizing on her apparent mistake with a spin kick. That was when he noticed some sort of rocket heading in their direction. The two of them immediately leapt up a few dozen feet allowing the rocket to pass harmlessly underneath them and impact against a mansion wall. The alarms began sounding as the two fighters got their first look at their attackers.

Their attackers looked like the werewolves that Ranma had seen in the movies. They were large compared to a normal human, towering at almost eight feet tall. They were muscular and had builds similar to Taro's Minotaur form although the legs were noticeably longer and more powerful. Fortunately, it seemed like only one of them was carrying any firearms, a wolf that was apparently their alpha male. The others didn't look like they carried any weapons. Half of them broke away from the group and headed straight for the mansion. The rest of them, including the alpha male tried to swarm Ranma and Ceres. The alpha male and two others chose to attack Ranma while the other three went after Ceres.

Ceres was quick to deal with her attackers, using lethal blows that either decapitated them or tore out their hearts. She found herself wishing she had her Halconnen canon with her. It would have ended things much quicker. She had gotten used to using it and secretly loved the feel of blowing up her enemies with it. She could understand why her Master used his guns instead of relying solely on his powers. There was an exhilaration she felt when she used her weapon that was different from just using her powers. Once Ceres killed the last of the werewolves who had attacked her, she glanced over to see how Ranma was holding up. She saw that Ranma was trying to knock them out instead of killing them.

"Ranma, what are you doing!" She shouted at him, "You can't beat them like that! Go for the head or the heart! It's the only way to kill them!"

Ranma managed to send her a shocked lock while he dodged the three werewolves' attacks. He was trying to keep pressure on the wolf he had pegged as the leader in an effort to prevent him from using his guns. "Kill them!" He shouted back at her, disgust in his voice evident, "I don't need to kill them to beat them!"

Ceres blinked at his answer and suddenly remembered how she had been when she first became a vampire. She had had a lot of difficulty with killing the freaks at first and that had been when she knew what they were. Ranma had no idea what these Freaks were so she could understand his hesitation. "Ranma, they're not human anymore! They're just killing machines now! Trust me; killing them is the only way to save them now! It's the only mercy we grant the poor souls!"

"Are you insane!" Ranma shouted back, still dodging, "You make it sound like there's no hope of saving them!"

"Once they've been changed, there's no going back for them!" She told him trying to convince him, "They have no conscious control of themselves! They're worse than animals now, they're just living weapons! The only way to help them is to kill them!"

"No! I refuse to believe that!" Ranma roared back at her. He knew about the Freak chips from hearing Integra's story earlier but he was still uncomfortable with the idea of casually killing something that had once been human. "I won't kill someone just because you think they can't be saved!"

Ceres felt a little hurt at Ranma's words but she understood how he felt. She had been in a similar position herself once. She watched with shock as Ranma suddenly moved so quickly he began to leave behind afterimages and seemed to attack specific areas of the werewolves. He stopped in front of her just as the werewolves abruptly stopped moving and a second later, dropped to the ground, unconscious.

Ranma looked at her angrily, "It's possible to stop someone without killing them. I know that sometimes there's no other way but I swore I would never kill anyone ever again. Not if there was a chance of saving them." He seemed to calm himself down and looked towards the mansion, "C'mon, we better take care of them rest of them before they get inside."

They heard the sound of maniacal laughter ring out over the gunfire coming from mansion. Ceres recognized the sound of her Master's laughter. "Never mind, my Master is already dealing with them." She told him, "They'll be dead before we can get there."

"What! We have to stop him! There's no need to kill them!"

Ceres grabbed his arm as Ranma tried to brush past her. "Ranma, please listen to me." She said to him as he glared at her. "I know how you feel, believe me. I've been though it myself but you don't know these things like we do. If you did, you'd understand. This is how it has to be." She sighed as Ranma still looked angry but at least he didn't try to break free of her grip. "I wish there was another way of helping them but there isn't. We've tried and nothing we've done has worked."

She felt Ranma relax a little but his muscles were still tensed for action beneath her grip, "I just can't believe that there's nothing we can do to help them." He said to her, sadly.

"Well, you can ask Sir Integra more about them." Ceres told him, "She'd be able to explain better than I could."

While the two of them had been talking, the sounds of Alucard's attack on the rest of the Freaks faded away. Ranma turned away from Ceres to see Kasumi and Integra walking towards them with a squad of soldiers surrounding them. He felt Ceres let go of his arm when he relaxed his muscles. He didn't want to upset Kasumi by causing a scene. He was going to get some answers from Integra though. He still felt that there had to be a better way of stopping the Freaks without killing them. He had been trained to protect the weak, not slaughter his opponents. Integra stopped in front of them and looked curiously at the werewolves that Ranma had subdued.

She sighed to herself at the look on Ranma's face. It felt like looking at Ceres again when she first joined Hellsing. He had the same look of apprehension at the idea of killing just as Ceres had. At least he managed to subdue the Freaks unlike Ceres on her first mission. '_I suppose we'll have to make it clear to him that once they've been changed, they're as good as dead._' Integra thought to herself. She was surprised that he had actually managed to subdue them though. She didn't think that was actually possible. While she had been thinking, her troops had surrounded the werewolves with their weapons at the ready and looked questioningly at her. This was the first time they had ever captured live Freaks. They were used to dealing with their remains so they were at a slight loss as what to do with prisoners.

"Good work in dealing with them Ceres." Integra said to her, approvingly, "Ranma, thank you for your help with the attack. Though I see you have something to say about our methods."

It was only Kasumi's presence next to Integra that kept Ranma from losing his temper and saying something he might regret later. He actually liked Integra and hoped to be her friend but that didn't mean he liked her methods. His head could understand it somewhat but his heart still wasn't convinced. "You bet I got something to say about it. I don't like the idea that everyone seems to think that killing them is all we can do for them." He said to her as he tried to keep his voice civil. "There's gotta be something we can do to help them."

"Ranma, I know you feel that they might still be saved but it's too late for them." She told him, trying to explain to him. "Once the chips have been implanted, there's no going back for them. These new Freaks don't even have the self awareness that the first ones did. As long as the chips are inside them, they have no free will of their own and removing the chips will kill them automatically."

"Damn it! Are you saying that these guys were just slaves?" Ranma asked her angrily before thinking of something, "They didn't want to do any of this did they?"

"I doubt it." She told him, letting the sadness she felt into her voice. "I suspect that they're just like all the others that have recently shown up around the world. They're probably men who were taken off the streets and implanted with the new Freak chips." Integra paused as she looked at the werewolves. "Just how did you subdue them? We've tried using elephant tranquillizers before but they had no effect."

"I used pressure points on them. They should be out for a day or so, I hope. If they can shrug off stuff like that, it'll probably work for maybe a few hours in their case."

As if to prove him wrong, a werewolf suddenly lashed out and knocked away a soldier who had gotten too close. The cry of alarm from the troops surprised them all. Ranma turned back in time to see the leader bring himself to a crouch and draw his gun. Time seemed to slow as Ranma saw Alucard descend from the sky from behind the werewolves and impale one of them, a werewolf that had just leapt up into the air, with his arm. Ceres had leapt at the werewolf that had first woken up and literally knocked his block off with a powerful punch. Neither of the two had noticed the leader drawing his gun on Integra except for Ranma and Kasumi.

The two of them acted instinctively. Kasumi, who was closest to Integra, pushed her to the ground before Integra could realize what was going on. Ranma had already leapt towards the two women to do the same which was why the two of them were right in the line of fire of where Integra had just been standing when everyone heard the gunshot. Less than a second later, the leader was killed by the soldiers who opened fire on the werewolf just as the gunshot rang out. Ranma landed on top of Kasumi as time seemed to resume its normal pace for him. He felt a sharp pain from the bullet that had just torn its way through his heart. He propped himself up with one elbow and looked down at Kasumi. He could see blood flowing out of her chest where the bullet had passed through as well.

Ranma felt his blood run cold as he saw Kasumi's wound. "Kas-chan…" He said softly as he saw her beautiful brown eyes gaze at him.

"Ranma…you're hurt…" Kasumi said to him, trying to keep the pain out of her voice as she felt herself go into shock. A part of her was thinking back to all the things she had read in those medical books that she had borrowed from Dr. Tofu. It seemed so different when you were the one experiencing it. "It's getting cold Ranma, we should go inside…"

Ranma could feel his strength beginning to leave him. After everything he'd been through, all the enemies he'd faced, he never thought that it would ever end like this. "Don't worry Kasumi. It's gonna be okay." He lied to her, knowing they were both dying, "We'll be fine…together…I…love…you…" Unable to keep himself up any longer, he slumped over Kasumi, his eyes beginning to close. '_At least we're together…I'm sorry Kasumi, I should've…killed them when I had the chance…now you're gonna die cuz of…my mistake. I'm so sorry…forgive me…_'

Integra couldn't believe her eyes. Her 'big sister' and her boyfriend were dying right in front of her eyes. They were dying because they had saved her life. "No…this isn't happening." She whispered under breath. A part of her wanted to cry out in loss and shed tears of remorse. Another part told her she had to show a strong front to those under her command. She looked over at Alucard and then back at the two lovers. She didn't want them to die, she had seen more than her share of death. Her mother, her father, her troops…no more…she didn't want anyone else she cared for to leave her alone. She knew there was no way of saving them but…that didn't mean there wasn't a way to prevent them from being lost to her.

Integra got up from where she had been knocked down and knelt beside Kasumi. She gently lifted Kasumi's head, "Kasumi, Kasumi listen to me." She spoke to her gently. Integra saw Kasumi weakly gaze at her, her eyelids beginning to close. "You don't have to die, Kasumi. You can become a vampire…like me…please don't leave me sister." Integra began to cry as she asked Kasumi, knowing just what she was asking her to do.

Kasumi turned away from Integra and gazed down at where Ranma was lying on her breast. "Ranma…?" She weakly asked Integra.

Alucard knelt down on the other side of Kasumi and picked up Ranma. He cradled Ranma in his arms and looked down at the wounded man. "If he chooses to, the choice must be made of your own free will." He said to Kasumi as he saw that the both of them were still breathing but they didn't have much time left.

Ranma and Kasumi looked at each other as their time began to run out. Ranma managed a weak nod at Alucard. "Yes…"

Kasumi looked back at Integra and gave a weak nod of her own. "I accept…as long…as we're…together, it…doesn't matter…"

As Integra and Alucard bent down to bite them, Kasumi and Ranma shared the same thought.

'_As long as we're together…nothing else matters…_'

* * *

Curtain Call

* * *

Arcee: (_Sweeping up ashes with a wooden broom)_ This just isn't fair! Why do I have to do all this! 

R-Kives: Because you're the one who summoned an army of ghouls in first place. You missed a spot.

Arcee: Argh! (_Throws down her broom_) C'mon boss! Have a heart! You killed just as many ghouls as I did! Can't you just...you know? (_makes a gesture with her hand_) 'poof' all this away?

R-Kives: I could but I'm not going to. This is your punishment so stop complaining and start sweeping. Just be glad I gave you a broom. You could be trying to do this with a toothbrush you know.

Arcee: (_Looks around her and sees all the piles of ashes still around_) I'll keep the broom...

R-Kives: Right, anyway, the new chapter is done. Took me quite a while though. I think maybe next chapter we can pop down to Nerima and see how everyones doing. After all Nabiki is still there and she's a part of this story too. So everyone, I hope you enjoy the chapter and please review!

Arcee: (_Muttering under her breath _) They'd probably enjoy it even more if they could read a new chapter of MMSS after they finished reading this one.

R-Kives: I heard that. I'm still working on it, it's not like I haven't made any progress you know. Anyway, it's time to go. Seeya everyone!


	5. Bitter Truths

Disclaimer: I own neither Hellsing nor Ranma or any other series that may appear and make no monetary profit from this fanfiction whatsoever. This is done for pleasure, pure and simple.

* * *

R-Kives: Hello everyone. Well, as I said in the last chapter, we're going to go see how things have turned out back in Nerima.

Arcee: Except this chapter is mostly flashback.

R-Kives: Yeah well, people wanted to know more about what happened to send Ranma and Kasumi on the run to England so this chapter deals with what happened between Akane, Nabiki, Ranma and Kasumi.

Arcee: Some readers might not like how this chapter turns out though, especially with how rough Akane gets it.

R-Kives: True, Akane lovers may get pretty mad but let me just say this in my defense. Yes, Akane gets a real bad hand in this fic but I have plans for Akane which calls for a tragic past for her. I have plans for a spin-off fanfic starring Akane and saying anything more would spoil it.

Arcee: That and you haven't done much work on it yet.

R-Kives: _cough _um yes, there's that too...moving along...the next chapter, I'm hoping to concentrate more on Nabiki and more current events so Nabiki fans can relax, Nabiki will be getting more screen time soon. Now I think that's everything I wanted to say...

Arcee: _cough _timing _cough _

R-Kives: Oh right, right. The way I broke up the weeks has been nagging at me and I think I got the timing of the events a little off so if anyone notices this and can explain to me just why, I'd appreciate it. This chapter was a little too angsty for me and somehow I don't think I'm that good at writing angst. At least I wasn't really comfortable with writing it but it was necessary for the story... Anyway, I've rambled long enough so thank you for taking the time to listen to me, please enjoy this new chapter of 'To Fly Free in Shadows'

Arcee: Now can you let me go, boss? I promise to be good! Really, I do! (we can now see that Arcee is tied up and wrapped in glowing chains)

R-Kives: (glares at the bound assistant) After that business with the Ranma of MMSS, I'm not quite inclined to believe you.

Arcee: I'm really, really sorry! It'll never happen again! I swear!

R-Kives: You almost ruined the whole story! Not to mention the fact that you tried to slip Ranma a Zord! Just how the hell do you think you were going to sneak THAT by me?

Arcee: (Performs the 'Crouch of the Grovelling Worm') I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry

R-Kives: Silence! (lighting flashes dramatically) I will consider releasing you...AFTER I finish working on the next chapter of MMSS. Now...let us begin the chapter! This, I command!

* * *

---Nerima, Tendo Dojo---

A week ago the Tendo home was considered the centre of any chaos that happened to occur in Nerima. No matter what caused it to begin with, somehow, someway, it would eventually involve the Tendo home. To be more specific, it would eventually involve a certain guest of the Tendo home. Many of Nerima's inhabitants didn't really blame the boy. They could see it wasn't his fault most of the time although he caused some of the chaos occasionally. They did blame the boy's father though. Since Nabiki made quite a profit on selling information about the pig-tailed martial artist and neighbors are naturally curious when the home next door regularly erupts into screaming, shouting and airborne people being sent flying into the horizon, the people of the district knew more about Ranma's life than they did about their own.

Now the house was silent. In her room, Akane Tendo sat silently on her bed. She has just returned from school. She was still dressed in her school uniform. Her school bag lay on the floor unheeded. Its contents spilled out onto the floor, books and papers spread out messily. Her usual activity at this time would be breaking bricks, that is, training in the dojo. She hasn't done this for a week now. Not since her birthday. Akane simply sits and stares at a yellow dress that hangs from a clothes hanger on her wardrobe door. The dress is quite beautiful; even from a distance one could see that it was exceptionally well made. The material of the dress is the finest silk, quite expensive for this household. The design is original, the dress was custom made for one person. It's never been worn. Akane sits and stares at the dress...and remembers…

---One month ago---

Akane closed the door of her home and took off her shoes, placing them in their proper place. She was home later than usual today. She had spent some time with her friends after school. They had wandered around the shops while talking about various subjects. She hadn't bothered to announce that she was home, she hadn't felt like it. She wondered about why the house seemed quiet as she made her way to the kitchen. Her father and Mr. Saotome must have been out, probably drinking at some bar, and Nabiki was likely doing some business somewhere. Unless Ranma had been involved in some stupid challenge again, he'd be home now but she couldn't hear any signs of him training in the dojo. Kasumi would be home and in the kitchen of course, she always was.

Akane had reached the kitchen door and noticed that it wasn't fully closed. She was about to slide it open all the way as she wondered on the whereabouts of Ranma when she heard his voice coming from the kitchen. She froze as she heard Kasumi answer him. She couldn't make out what they were saying. When she realized that Ranma was alone in the kitchen with Kasumi when no one else was around, her anger quickly emerged. She stopped herself from giving in to her anger and stomping in to beat Ranma for flirting with her sister. '_Ranma may be a pervert but he'd never do anything to Kasumi._' Akane thought to herself. '_And Kasumi would never do anything with Ranma because he's my fiancé even though I don't like the pervert._'

Satisfied that nothing wrong was going on, Akane thought about why Ranma would be in the kitchen. '_Of course, that baka probably went in to ask Kasumi for something to eat._' She snorted silently to herself. '_Doesn't he realize that she must be busy with the housework? Honestly he's such an insensitive jerk. I wonder what he wanted Kasumi to make; I could make it for him. I'm just as good a cook as Kasumi is after all._' Akane crept closer to the door and tried to listen in on their conversation.

"Yeah, I worked it out with Nabiki." Ranma's voice drifted out from the kitchen. "She'll help us out and keep this a secret. I just need to do some jobs for her but at least I'm getting to keep some of the money for us."

"I see…how long will it take you to save up enough money?" Akane heard Kasumi ask Ranma.

"Well, there are a lot of jobs and they pay pretty good." Ranma replied. "Nabiki says I'd have enough after about a week or so."

"That'll give me enough time to plan everything then." Kasumi said after a moment of thoughtful silence. "We'll have to be careful not to let anyone else find out about it though. Especially Akane, it would ruin everything if she knew about this."

"Yeah, I know. Nabiki said she'd help with that too." Ranma said to Kasumi, sounding a little amused. "Our secret is safe with Nabiki."

Akane couldn't listen anymore and silently rushed to her room. She locked the door as she entered and dropped her things by her desk. She threw herself face down on the bed and began to sob into her pillow. Ranma WAS cheating on her like she always suspected. It just wasn't with anyone she thought it had been. Kasumi had stolen her fiancé from her behind her back and now they were planning on running away to elope! Ranma was earning the money they'd need and Kasumi was planning everything so they'd be able to get away with it before she could do anything about it! Nabiki knew about it and was even going to help them in their plan! Both her sisters had betrayed her!

Her tears had thoroughly soaked her pillow by now. Akane tried to think about what to do about her situation. No one would believe her if she told anyone. Not with Kasumi's reputation and Nabiki helping them. The other fiancés wouldn't believe her since Kasumi had fooled them just as well as she had fooled her. Nabiki might have been able to figure something out but her mercenary sister was already working for her backstabbing sister Akane thought to herself bitterly. '_How could she do that to me!_' Akane thought as fresh tears flowed from her eyes. '_I always knew Ranma was a lying, two-timing jerk!_'

The thought that she had been right all along did little to comfort her.

---Three weeks ago---

Ranma stumbled into the house after his last shift for the day. It was quite late and he was exhausted. He was thankful that tomorrow was his final day of work. '_Just one more day and I'll have earned enough money to buy it._' He thought to himself tiredly as he heard the sounds of soft footsteps. He looked up and saw Kasumi wearing her dressing gown and a concerned expression. '_She waited up for me again...I told her I'd be finished late so why didn't she just go to bed?_' He knew why of course. Kasumi cared for him; she cared about what he did and what happened to him. The knowledge filled him with a warmth that had begun to become welcomingly familiar. She always waited for him to come home and she always had a light meal ready for him when he did.

Contrary to what a lot of people thought, especially his rivals, Ranma was looking for a way out of his fiancé problems without actually marrying any of them. There wasn't really anyone he could ask for help. Everyone he knew had their own opinions on which girl he should marry and why. No one seemed to consider the possibility that he didn't WANT to marry any of them. He liked the girls; all of them, well except for Kodachi, the crazed gymnast had a laugh that sent chills down his spine. As far as Ranma was concerned, she was just a female copy of her brother, only without the bad poetry. He didn't want to hurt any of them if it were possible but that possibility kept growing slimmer and slimmer as time went on. He liked them…but he didn't love them.

Ukyou was the closest thing he had ever had to a best friend next to Ryoga. At least she used to be but now his best friend from childhood had been replaced by a fiancé who kept trying to guilt trip him into marrying her. He hadn't been responsible for what happened to her. He'd been used by Genma just as much as she had been. It didn't stop her from placing the responsibility for what happened onto his shoulders though. After the failed wedding, Ranma had been giving her the cold shoulder. Anything else just encouraged her, he realized, so instead of responding to anything she did, he simply acted as if she didn't exist. The heartbroken look she wore each time he did so kept tearing him up inside. It was only the Soul of Ice technique that stopped him from giving in to the urge to just forgive her for what she had done.

Shampoo got the same treatment as Ukyou. The Chinese Amazon was beautiful, skilled in the martial arts, knew how to cook and was as bubbly as Happosai was perverted. She was close to being his ideal fantasy girl. The problem lay in the fact that she turned into one of his worst nightmares as easily as he switched genders and that she was hell bent on turning him into a slave. Ranma had no illusions on how he'd be treated as her husband. He knew exactly how men were treated in her village, no matter how powerful or skilled they were, they were still _men_. He'd die a hundred times over before he'd submit to being anyone's slave.

As for Akane…he thought he loved her once. A few months after the failed wedding had slowly eroded whatever feelings of love he might have had for her. After the wedding fiasco, Ranma had tried to change. He wasn't always successful but he did try. He curbed his almost instinctive tendency to insult her. That hadn't stopped Akane from taking even the words 'Good Morning, Akane' as an insult to her and an excuse to hit him. He tried to take her as a Martial Artist seriously and offered to train her. That had gotten him another beating for 'insulting' her skills as a martial artist instead. No matter what he did, it seemed like it always resulted in a beating now.

There had been times in the past that he thought he could see a kinder, gentler side of Akane. Those times were gone now. Now he was weary of spending too much time with her anymore. He found excuses to spend time with Kasumi and Nabiki instead. At worst, Kasumi would only ask him to help with the household chores and Nabiki would…well, she normally ended up profiting off of him one way or another. At least Nabiki wasn't as bad about it as she used to be anymore. She was friendlier to him since the wedding disaster for some reason that he never really dwelled on. Of course this had ended up with him being attacked by Akane for 'flirting' with her sisters.

Ranma had tried to make the engagement work between him and Akane but that was the problem. He was the only one who did. Akane simply wouldn't change and with every beating he got for his efforts, his feelings for her lessened. This was his final attempt at salvaging the engagement. He didn't know just how much longer he'd be able to stop himself from doing what Akane did all the time, lose his temper and hit someone. Akane's birthday was next week and he was earning enough money to pay for the birthday present that he and Kasumi were going to give to her. Nabiki had found him high paying part time work on short notice. He'd earn the money they needed to buy the material and Kasumi was the one who'd actually make it though she had mentioned that he'd need to 'help' with the fitting. Ranma wasn't sure why the idea sent a small shiver down his spine but he was sure he wouldn't like it when he found out what exactly Kasumi meant by that. He was just glad that Akane seemed to have stopped paying attention to him over the past week.

Ranma had realized after the engagement had been switched to Nabiki that he didn't have to be engaged to Akane. The promise was to unite the families, no one was ever specified. He'd tried to make things work with Nabiki but she had sold him out then. She was different now but he didn't want to try being her fiancé again. He regarded her as a sister more than a potential wife, a scheming, older sister who liked to tease her little brother. So when the engagement had been switched back to Akane, he hadn't protested too much about it. At the time, he'd thought that it might actually work out between them.

Ranma had often wondered how things would have worked out if the engagement had been switched to Kasumi instead of Nabiki that day. Kasumi was beautiful, an excellent cook, gentle, kind, caring and she'd never hit him or accuse him of anything without proof. Though she wasn't the heir of the Tendo style of Anything Goes Martial Arts, Ranma knew she was at least equal to Ukyou in terms of skill though she did her best to hide it from everyone. The only thing that stopped him from seriously considering being engaged to her was that she didn't seem to be interested in him that way.

He did admit to himself that he had started to like Kasumi that way, especially after the failed wedding, partly due to the fact that he spent more time with her now than he did before. Sometimes he'd help her with chores or they would simply talk about nothing in particular when no one else was home. He learned a lot about Kasumi during those talks. He learned she had wanted to have a career in medicine when she was younger. He discovered, to his secret joy, that Kasumi only saw Dr. Tofu as a friend and couldn't seriously see herself in a relationship with a man who couldn't be serious about anything. He realized how lonely Kasumi was and did his best to cheer her up whenever he could. Even if they would ever only be friends, he'd do his best to make her happy.

Kasumi sat at the kitchen table, eating a little of the meal she had saved for Ranma while he sat across from her and ate the rest of it slowly, too tired to vacuum it as he normally did. She saw that he was even more tired tonight than ever and was absorbed in his thoughts as he ate. When Ranma had first arrived, she and Nabiki had pushed the poor, cursed boy onto Akane out of fear. As time had gone on, she began to regret her impulsive actions. She watched as the boy she'd turned away out of fear had actually turned out to be far different from what she had thought of him from her first impression of him. Ranma had seemed to be a rude, uncultured, immature, wild child at first.

Now she realized the truth. Ranma was uncultured, immature and wild but that had only been due to how he'd been raised. Genma was as far from a good role model for a child as she could think. Over time, Ranma had showed himself to be kind, caring, compassionate, occasionally thoughtless and possessed of a good heart. He also had a tendency to have his actions dictated by honor more than Kasumi considered healthy. She had seen Ranma get into more trouble than he would have otherwise if he hadn't been pressured by his view of honor. There had been many times that she had worried that his good heart and dedication to honor would result in his death.

When the engagement had been passed to Nabiki, she had secretly fantasized about what life would be like if it had been passed to her instead. After the failed wedding, Ranma had started spending more time with her. She's never act on her feelings for him though. Ranma was her little sister's fiancé and it wouldn't be proper for her to do anything about it. Although she would ever only be a big sister to him, Kasumi cherished the times they spent together. She had admitted to herself that she cared deeply for Ranma and wouldn't have minded being engaged to him. She had pushed away her fantasies since she knew that Ranma didn't feel that way about her.

Kasumi had noticed that Akane had seemed very depressed lately and it worried her. She avoided Ranma completely and when she tried to talk to Akane about it, Akane had snapped at her and walked away much to Kasumi's shock. She didn't know what was wrong but she hoped that her birthday would snap her out of it. Kasumi had finished the design she intended to use for the dress that she and Ranma would give her for her birthday. She already knew the measurements for it since she was the one who always fixed Akane's dresses. All she needed now was the material for it. Once Ranma bought the silk the two of them had decided on, she'd be able to start working on the dress. Since Ranma would be helping her with it, they should be able to have it finished before Akane's birthday next week.

---Two weeks ago---

Akane stormed into the house, an aura of rage surrounding her. She didn't bother closing the door or putting her shoes in their proper place. She simply kicked them off and stomped her way to her room and slammed the door close. She locked the door and threw her school bag onto the floor. Akane angrily changed into her yellow shirt and blue dress. Then all the energy seemed to get sucked out of her and she fell forwards onto her bed. She clutched her bed sheets tightly in her fists and began to sob silently into her pillow. Akane had been feeling furious all morning and it had all been because of last night. No, that wasn't accurate, not really. Last night had been a repeat of every night for the past week. That was what made her so angry.

Akane had bottled up or at least tried to bottle up her feelings for the past two weeks. Ever since she found out about Kasumi and Ranma's plans to elope, Akane had tried to think of what to do. There was no one she could turn to, no one she could trust. Ukyou, Shampoo and Kodachi would try to turn it to their advantage, that is, if they'd believe her in the first place. Nabiki was helping Ranma and Kasumi in their plans. Her father and uncle Saotome would just be overjoyed that Kasumi and Ranma were planning to elope. So would aunt Nodoka and even if she would have tried to help Akane, she was currently out of the country on family business. She couldn't talk about it to her friends either.

Memories came to her mind, unbidden, unwanted…

It had started after Ranma stopped going to his part time jobs. Akane had still been awake after crying into her pillow once again. It was about an hour after everyone else had gone to bed that Akane heard the slight grating noise of Kasumi's door being slowly opened. It had taken a second for Akane to realize what it was she had just heard. A few seconds later, she heard the door being eased shut. Akane wondered what was going on and seconds later, the images that her imagination conjured up threatened to send her into another crying fit. She stood up and padded to her door. She ever so slowly and carefully opened the door and stepped into the hallway. A part of her dreaded what she was about to confirm but another part of her pushed her into action. She just had to know the truth.

Akane crept to Kasumi's door and placed her ear up to the door. She could make out two distinct voices. They were muffled at first but she tried to concentrate on them and in the stillness of the night, she was able to make them out.

"Sorry I'm kinda late Kasumi." She heard the sound of Ranma's voice say. "I had to make sure pops was asleep and stayed that way."

"You used pressure points on him?" Akane heard Kasumi ask him in reply.

"Yeah, we don't have to worry about him waking up and seeing I aint there. He'll sleep till way past dawn."

"That's good. I don't want anyone interrupting us."

"Do you have…?" Ranma started to ask Kasumi before she interrupted him.

"Yes, I have it here. The thermos will keep the water hot enough for you to change back later." Even through the door, Akane could hear the happy tone of Kasumi's voice. A few seconds of silence later and Kasumi's voice turned playful and amused. "So what are you waiting for Ranma-kun? Take it off…this won't be as good if you keep your clothes on you know?"

Kasumi's words were followed by silence for a second before Akane heard the rustle of clothing. "There's no need to be shy Ranma…it's just the two of us here. Now come over here…"

That had been when Akane couldn't stand it any longer and crept back to her room. After that night, each night for the past week, Akane could hear the small sound of Kasumi's door being eased open and then shut. She couldn't bring herself to listen in on them anymore and simply cried herself to sleep, too heartbroken to become angry. Today was her birthday but she was feeling anything but happy right then. The sound of someone knocking on her door roused her out of her reminiscing state. Akane tried to ignore the knocking in the hopes that whoever it was would get the message and leave her alone.

"Akane?" Came the sound of Nabiki's voice. "Akane! C'mon downstairs, Ranma and Kasumi want to talk to you before your birthday party. Hurry up and come down!"

Akane felt her anger begin to build within her. So the two lovers wanted to talk to her did they? On her birthday, the two people who betrayed her the most wanted to talk to her? Akane got up from her bed and unlocked her door. She took a second to clean her face a little before she slowly walked downstairs and into the living room. She saw the two of them standing next to each other. Kasumi held a box in her hands while Ranma simply stood there, looking nervous. Akane glared at the two of them, growing angrier and seeing no hint of guilt in them. They had betrayed her behind her back and now they were about to give her a present for her birthday. How dare they? _How DARE they!_

"Happy Birthday, Akane." Kasumi said to her happily. "I know your party isn't until later but Ranma and I wanted to give you your present first. We hope you…"

That was as far as Kasumi got before Akane backhanded the box out of her hands to the surprise of everyone in the room. "How dare you!" She screamed at Kasumi's shocked face. "How dare you steal my fiancé from me and then think you can give me a present on my birthday!

"What do you think you're doing Akane?" Ranma said harshly as he stepped between Akane and Kasumi, who was still in shock.

Akane was incensed. He had the audacity to act as if she was in the wrong. Without warning, Akane suddenly drove her fist into Ranma's face and sent him flying towards the wall. Unfortunately Kasumi had still been behind him when Akane had caught him off guard with her fury driven punch. Kasumi impacted against the wall before Ranma slammed into her with a sickening thud. Nabiki stood stock still as her mind tried to process just what the hell had happened.

Genma and Soun, who were standing nearby, responded in their usual ways once the shock of what had just happened passed over them. Genma splashed himself with a glass of cold water that had been on the table and pulled out a sign that read 'I'm just a cute panda who has nothing to do with this!' while Soun burst into tears and began to cry out loud that Akane had lost her mind and now the schools would never be joined because his daughter was crazy.

Ranma looked at Akane with anger in his eyes before he remembered that Kasumi had been behind him. He turned around and gasped as he saw a trail of blood on the wall from where Kasumi's head had hit it. He gently pulled Kasumi into his lap and gently tilted her head forward. His agitation lowered a little when he noticed that her breathing was still regular though she seemed dazed. Ranma got to his feet while he cradled Kasumi protectively in his arms. His eyes were as hard as steel and everyone felt the temperature of the room begin to rise.

"Just what the hell were you thinking, Akane?" Ranma asked in a cold tone in contrast to the rising heat of his battle aura.

Akane was shaken out of her shock at the thought that she had just hurt Kasumi. She remembered why she had been angry and her own battle aura manifested itself. Without thinking about it, she answered with fury in her voice. "I was thinking that if my backstabbing bitch of a sister wants you so much, she can have you!" Akane's voice had steadily increased until she was finally screaming at Ranma. "Our engagement is over and if you think I'll ever take you back after you've cheated on me with that lying, two-faced, scheming slut; you're as stupid as your miserable, flea-bitten father!"

Ranma stepped forward as if he was about to attack Akane when Kasumi moaned painfully in his arms at the slight movement. He stopped and seemed to calm down though he still glared harshly at Akane. Without a word, he adjusted his grip on Kasumi and turned around and walked outside. Once he was outside, Ranma looked in the direction of Nerima Hospital and made a standing jump to the roof of the house that stood in the direction he wanted to go. He landed gently on the roof without aggravating whatever pain Kasumi might have been feeling. Seconds later, he and Kasumi were out of sight.

Back inside the house, Nabiki finally came to her senses. She walked up to Akane, grabbed her still blazing sister by her shoulder and turned Akane around to face her. "Are you insane? Have you finally lost it, Akane?" Nabiki asked her, seething, her anger overlaid by cold control. "Where the hell did you come up with that conclusion! What could have possibly made you believe, even for an instant, that Ranma cheated on you with Kasumi of all people!"

"As if you didn't know!" Akane replied angrily. "You were helping them! Do you know how I know? Well let me tell you!"

Minutes later, Akane had finished telling Nabiki, rather, screaming at Nabiki, what she had found out about Ranma and Kasumi's relationship over the past few weeks. The more Akane spoke, the angrier the expression on Nabiki's face became. When Akane stopped talking, Nabiki didn't do anything, out of guilt, Akane thought. That is until Nabiki suddenly slapped Akane hard on the cheek with enough force to knock Akane on her ass. Akane held her cheek painfully in surprise as Nabiki walked over to where the box Kasumi had been holding had landed. Nabiki picked up the box and walked back to where Akane still sat.

"You arrogant, self-centered bitch! Kasumi never stole Ranma from you! They weren't planning on running away to elope!" Nabiki said to Akane, anger seething in her voice as she tore open the box.

"I got Ranma those jobs so he could pay for the silk they were going to use to make your present!" Nabiki pulled out a beautiful, yellow, silk dress and held it up for Akane to see. "Ranma snuck into Kasumi's room so they could work on making your dress. He used his cursed form to model the dress for Kasumi. They never betrayed you!"

Nabiki threw the dress at the now pale faced Akane. "You, with your petty jealousies, you, with your eagerness to jump to conclusions, you, with your attitude that everything you do is right and that you can never be wrong about anything! The only one who betrayed anyone was you!"

Tears began to spill down Akane's face but Nabiki was relentless. Her anger had finally overwhelmed her ability to control it. "Kasumi has spent almost her entire life looking over us! She cared for us; she became more of a parent to us then our own father. She gave up her dreams and ambitions for us! And how do you repay her for her sacrifice? You accuse her of stealing Ranma away from you and knocking her almost through the wall! You could have killed her!"

Akane's choking sobs did little to deter Nabiki's tirade. "Ranma has never and would NEVER cheat on you! He has never deliberately tried to hurt you. Despite the fact that you beat him so much that a normal man would have died a hundred times from it, he stayed loyal to you. I found out from Mouse that he killed a GOD for you! Mouse told me just how much pain and heartbreak he saw on Ranma's face when he thought you died! And if a man whose half-blind could see just how much Ranma loved you, I wonder what that makes you!"

Nabiki stopped talking and looked down at Akane. Then she turned around and left the room. The two cowering fathers who had borne witness to Nabiki's anger saw the middle Tendo girl head towards the door leading outside, presumably to go to the hospital to check on Kasumi's condition.

---Back to present time---

That had been a week ago. A few days after Kasumi had been hurt, she and Ranma had disappeared. Nabiki was still trying to find out where the two of them had gone. She hadn't had much luck. Akane's door suddenly opened and startled Akane out of her thoughts. Nabiki took a few steps into Akane's room and looked at her, her expression unreadable. Then she spoke, her tone cold but Akane had gotten used to that ever since her birthday. Akane wanted to do something about it but every time she tried to apologize, the icy glare she got from Nabiki stopped her cold.

"I found Kasumi and Ranma." Nabiki told Akane, Nabiki's face still emotionless.

The light of hope dawned on Akane's face. Now that Nabiki had found them, Akane could try and make things right between them. Nabiki's next words were like an ice cold slap to the face.

"I'm going to London to pick up their bodies." Nabiki said and watched Akane freeze as the meaning of Nabiki's words hit her. "I've arranged the funeral for a week from now. That'll be how long it'll take me to get there, arrange for their release and then transport back here."

"I've contacted auntie Nodoka; she'll be back in Japan late tonight and then she'll come here tomorrow to help with…everything." Having said what she had come to say, Nabiki turned away and walked downstairs to break the news to her father and Genma.

Behind her, Akane had broken into heart wrenching sobs as she realized just what her attitude had cost her. The lives of a sister who had been a mother to her and a man who loved her despite all the cruelties and abuse she had given him. A breeze swept in through her open door and blew a paper around her room before settling in front of Akane. Akane stopped her crying for a moment, her attention drawn to the paper for some reason. It was her English Literature homework. It was an English poem written by some unknown writer. She was supposed to write an essay on it in English. Her eyes fell on the short poem and she read the words aloud.

_A bitter truth now I realize_

_That all my facts_

_Were no more than lies_

'_I love you' and 'my thanks'_

_Were what I should have said_

_Now too late for my love is dead_

_Regret is all that is left to me_

_My redemption too far to see_

When she finished speaking, Akane again broke down in tears.


	6. Welcome to the Family!

---Flight 714 to England from Japan---

Nabiki leaned back into her seat in the first class compartment of the plane and gazed out the window to her right. The plane had just left Japan's airspace a few minutes ago and Nabiki knew that it may be a long time before she ever saw her homeland again, if ever. She had packed everything she valued and brought them with her when she had left home…no, the Tendo Dojo, an hour ago. It had stopped being home not long after her mother passed away all those years ago; she had just never realized it until recently. Now, Nabiki was ready to leave the prison her former home had become and join the only people she really considered as her family anymore. As her eyes looked out at the scene outside her window, her mind went back to a few hours ago and why she was now on board a plane taking her to a new life.

---Earlier, Tendo Dojo, Nabiki's Room---

Nabiki finished reading the reports that her 'assistants' had put together for her. Some of them dealt with her various business dealings while the rest of them dealt with the issue of her 'search' for her elder sister and a certain aquatranssexual martial artist. The results of the search so far had come up with nothing, which was exactly what Nabiki had expected. The search was just a show Nabiki was putting on for the rest of Nerima. She knew exactly where Ranma and Kasumi were heading; Nabiki had sent them on their way after all. A few favors, some fake passports and a midnight escape from the hospital was all it took for Nabiki to get those two out of Japan and on the way to England.

In a way, she wasn't all that surprised with what happened between Kasumi and Ranma. It seemed inevitable really, like something out of a story which was par for the course when it came to Ranma's life. Nabiki smiled to herself as her thoughts took a familiar path. She thought Ranma's life in Nerima ran an almost eerie parallel to that Disney movie she had once seen called 'Beauty and the Beast'. All those weird characters running around in the castle, the villagers all smitten by that hunter, Kasumi fit the role of Beauty perfectly, forced by circumstances to have to cook, clean and take care of the rest of her family. Ranma made for a good stand in for the Beast although his curse was much easier on the eyes.

Nabiki felt that familiar shiver run through her body as she thought about Ranma's cursed form. Yes, the gods could certainly be cruel at times. To bless a body like that on someone who would never accept it completely. Yes, Ranma put up with the curse, yes, he had adapted to it and even seemed enjoy it sometimes but whenever any hint of a cure showed itself…BAM! He'd be going after it faster than Genma could run if his life was in danger. If Ranma had been a girl cursed to become a boy, Nabiki would have married Ranma the day the Saotomes had arrived.

Sure she had acted a little upset when she first met Ranma but that had only been to keep up appearances. The fact that the soaking wet redhead had let Nabiki practically fondle her breasts without actually stopping her had brought to mind several ways Nabiki could've apologized to her later that night once she managed to talk her father into letting the girl stay in her room for the night. Then she found out about the curse and boy had she reacted badly to it. She really regretted pushing Ranma onto Akane that night, just because she'd been frightened and upset that the girl she had found herself attracted to, had turned out to be a guy instead.

In a way, it was ironic how things had played out. Akane had accused Kasumi of stealing Ranma from her and planning to elope with him with Nabiki's help. So Akane had lashed out at them and injured Kasumi in the process. The end result of Akane's actions? Ranma and Kasumi professed their love for each other and Nabiki helped to send them on their way to a new life together. Akane's accusation came true because of Akane herself. Things had a funny way of working out in Nerima, the weird and the supernatural were everyday occurrences. Nabiki wondered if there were any other places in the world like it.

A tone from her laptop brought her out of her thoughts. Nabiki looked at her screen and saw someone had just instant messaged her. She noticed the name of the sender and smiled to herself. It was Kasumi's private account that no one but Nabiki knew about which meant that it might finally be time to put phase two of their plan into action. She opened up a conversation so she could talk with Kasumi and find out how things had went with her trip to see Integra.

---Online Conversation---

Urd: Hiya Bell! How are you and Keiichi? Did you manage to find Mara?

Belldandy: Hello Urd, yes, we managed to find Mara. She sends her best wishes to you and says she can't wait to see you again.

Urd: Tell her I can't wait to see her again too. C'mon, don't leave me hanging, how are things going between you and Keiichi? I want to hear ALL the juicy details!

Belldandy: Urd! There's nothing to tell! We both agreed we would be taking things slowly.

Urd: Knowing how skittish Keiichi is, you'll be old and gray before he finally works up the nerve to take things further.

Belldandy: Kei-kun isn't that bad… He just needs time to adjust to our new situation and so do I.

Urd: New situation? What's new? You've wanted to jump his bones for some time now. Now that you're a couple it's okay, so go for it!

Belldandy: That's not what I meant! And besides, what Kei-kun and I do is private.

Urd: Ha ha ha ok, ok, I'll drop the subject, I'm just teasing Bell, you know that.

Belldandy: Anyway, I've talked about it with Mara and she's going to help us.

Urd: Great! Now we just need a way to make sure no one comes after us or at least delay anyone long enough for our trail to go cold. I still haven't come up with a fool proof way of doing that, how about you Bell?

Belldandy: Don't worry; we've come up with a way that will guarantee no one will even think of coming after us.

Urd: Really? So what's the plan?

Belldandy: First, tell everyone that you've found us in London.

Urd: Whoa, hold on there! If I do that, everyone will be on the way there before the sun sets here!

Belldandy: Not if you tell them that we're dead.

Urd: What!

Belldandy: Just tell everyone that you're coming here to pick up our bodies and bring them back to Nerima. That way they'll wait in Nerima for you to come back with 'us'.

Urd: Then what? I don't quite see how this plan is going to work, Bell. Just saying you two are dead and coming back with a couple of fake bodies isn't going to fool anyone for long. People are going to want to check the bodies and the death certificates. They're not going to accept something like that just on my say so.

Belldandy: The certificates will be real and you won't need to worry about the bodies. Mara and I have come up with a cover story for our 'deaths'.

Urd: Oh? What is it? It'd have to be something pretty good to explain Keiichi's death, considering who we're talking about here.

Belldandy: We're going to blame our deaths on that terrorist organization that's been attacking all over the world recently, Cobra. Keiichi and I will simply have been at the wrong place and at the wrong time when 'Cobra' attack.

Urd: Wrong place and time eh? Knowing Keiichi, I'd buy that…and with how destructive those Cobra guys can get…but what happens if someone tries to investigate the 'attack'?

Belldandy: There really will be an attack by Cobra here soon. Mara's people found out about it and tried to warn the government but they've been ignored so far. We've decided to take advantage of it for own purposes though. Don't worry, Urd, just do what I've told you, trust me.

Urd: Alright, I'll do it…but even if, IF, this plan works what about me?

Belldandy: We've thought of that as well, don't worry. Now how's Skuld taking all this?

Urd: I'm surprised you still care about the brat after everything she did.

Belldandy: What she did…hurt…but I forgive her; she just needs to grow up. We sheltered her too long; I'm partly to blame for Skuld's actions.

Urd: Hmph well Skuld has been crying when she gets home from school. At least she doesn't seem to be falling back into her old habits. I think that talk I had with her that day stuck with her, we can hope anyway.

Belldandy: Is that all she's been doing?

Urd: I know she's been talking things over with her friends so she has some support. Toshiyuki tried his old routine on her a few days ago.

Belldandy: Oh my…I take it she didn't respond well to that?

Urd: You could say that. She kicked him between the legs so hard his face actually went blue. Then she told all the boys that if any guy tried anything like that with her again she wouldn't be so gentle next time.

Belldandy: Will the boy be alright?

Urd: He'll live. Though no ones seen him since and according to a medical report I got, you wouldn't want to hold your breath for an heir from him any time soon. None of the other boys from the hentai horde have tried anything either.

Belldandy: What about the others?

Urd: Fujimi and Megumi have been very busy lately and Sayoko is supposedly 'nursing' her brother back to health. I'm not sure what to make of that one and I'm not so curious about it that I want to visit that nut house to find out. Everyone's been paying me to track down 'Ranma' before he falls for 'Kasumi'. All the girls seem very worried about that.

Belldandy: Oh my.

Urd: Seriously though, Bell. How are things going with Keiichi? He's a nice guy and everything I know but are you really sure about him?

Belldandy: Yes, Urd, I'm very sure. He makes me very happy. He's so kind and caring, he makes me feel special…I don't really understand why Skuld acted as she did. Yes, Keiichi does have some rough edges but he's nowhere near as bad as she used to say he was.

Urd: Because the brat would never have admitted she might've been wrong about him.

Belldandy: Urd…

Urd: Anyway I have to go now Bell. I'll see you when I get there.

---Real World---

Nabiki didn't wait for a reply and logged out of her account before she shut down her laptop. She was still angry with Akane and everything that had happened. She hoped that Akane would change for the better now that she had had some harsh reality shoved down her throat. Her little sister wasn't the only one she was angry with though. Nabiki also partly blamed herself for Akane's attitude. She was partly responsible for her little sister's spoilt daddy's girl attitude. Whenever Akane had caused any problems, either Nabiki or Kasumi would step in to smooth things over. Her father wasn't really any better, anything Akane had wanted was hers and he'd pull that stupid demon's head on anyone that said otherwise.

'_Guess it's time to start phase two…_' Nabiki thought to herself as she began looking up numbers in her little black book. If she was going to be bringing back two bodies then she'd better prepare a funeral to receive them. She could pull in the fiancé's and some of Ranma's rivals to help with the funeral arrangements. It'd save money and it would effectively nail them all down in Nerima while she went to 'retrieve' Kasumi and Ranma. She began writing out a list of numbers and the services they could provide, as well as what they owed her, just in case they considered refusing her. Once she had finished her list, Nabiki picked up her mobile and dialed the first number on it.

---Two hours later---

Nabiki turned off her mobile and placed it on her table. She felt mentally and emotionally exhausted after having to deal with everyone she had just called. The fiancé's and rivals had reacted as she had thought they would, Nabiki was pleasantly surprised that she hadn't gone deaf from all the reactions which had included shouting, maniacal laughter and ranting. One of the hardest calls had been Ranma's mother. Nodoka had simply become cold and business like once she heard the news. It had made it hard to figure out what her reaction had really been, especially over the phone since Nabiki couldn't see her face.

Ranma's mother was a difficult woman to grasp even though she tended to come across as a lonely, honour obsessed traditional woman who wanted her son to give her lots of grandchildren. If Nabiki was the type to simply judge a person purely on her first impression then Nodoka would have rated very low on her list of people to truly respect. She had tried to look up information on the woman to see what kind of person she really was but all her searches had been lacking in the information she really wanted. Everything had turned up merely superficial information, as if it were all merely a cover.

That had made Nabiki cautious about her. Even from her last phone call with the woman, Nabiki still couldn't be sure just how Nodoka felt about her son. Was he just a tool for her or did she truly love him as a mother? Nabiki had yet to find an answer to that question so she had kept the call with Nodoka as professional as she could. Throughout the whole conversation Nodoka had given no hints on how she may have felt. Whether that was because she didn't really care or because it wasn't 'proper' to breakdown over the phone, Nabiki couldn't decide.

Then once she had finished arranging the funeral, Nabiki had called up her 'Inner Circle'. They were her most trusted associates and assistants, the closest people she had to friends. She had made arrangements for them to take over all her dealings until she returned which everyone assumed to be within a week or so. Nabiki knew that it might be the last time she may ever be able to talk with them again so she spent a few minutes reminiscing with each of them before moving on to the next person. She was sure that they would merely assume that the 'death' of her sister had prompted her nostalgic mood.

Now all her calls were done and the arrangements were made. It was time to tell the rest of the household about her 'discovery'. Nabiki left her room and went towards Akane's room.

---Flight 714 to England from Japan---

Nabiki turned away from the window and gazed down at the magazine on her lap instead. '_Not even a day and already having second thoughts…_' She thought to herself chidingly. Then she shook her head slightly, remembering why she was doing this, her resolve strengthened. '_No, I don't regret doing this. It's time we all moved on with our lives. Too bad the only way Ranma, Kasumi and I can ever move on with our lives is to get new ones._' The thought brought a wry smile to Nabiki's face. A movement from the corner of her eye drew her attention and Nabiki turned to see what it was.

It was one of the flight attendants for her cabin. The woman was bending down slightly and attempting to attract Nabiki's attention politely. She was dressed in the proper uniform though the fact that it seemed to be, a size or maybe two sizes smaller than it should have been, didn't escape Nabiki's eye. Her name tag on her uniform told Nabiki that her name was Ryoko. The fact that Nabiki's eyes lingered on her and where they lingered didn't escape the attendant's eye either. The girl seemed a little young though she seemed to be more mature than a girl her apparent age should be. Ryoko guessed that the girl wasn't much younger than she was.

The girl was young, traveling alone and was seated in First Class, which to Ryoko suggested one of two things. One, the girl was older than she looked and led a successful life, successful meaning profitable. Two, the girl was some rich man's daughter who was traveling the world for some reason. Ryoko recognized the look in her eyes when the girl had looked at her too. Ryoko was a woman who liked to enjoy life and many of her enjoyments were quite physical in nature. She also liked to share her enjoyment with others, male or female.

"Hello ma'am." Ryoko said to her politely while shifting her posture a little suggestively. "What would you like to eat? We have a meat course, seafood or would you prefer something more traditional?"

Nabiki smiled at Ryoko. "I'd like the seafood please."

Ryoko returned her smile. "What would you like to drink?"

"Do you have milk?"

"Why yes ma'am, we do. Would you like some?"

(R-Kives: I'll leave the rest of this scene to everyone's imagination…Let's go back in time a little and see what happened to Kasumi and Ranma after their turning, shall we?)

---Hellsing Mansion---

Kasumi opened her eyes slowly, her mind still half asleep. Her last memories were of Integra leaning over her…a sensation of pressure on the side of her neck briefly…and then…darkness. She slowly sat up and the first thing she noticed was that she was back in the living room. She looked around her and saw Integra on a chair that had been moved next to the couch. Her sister had fallen asleep; it seemed that Integra had been keeping watch over her. Kasumi's movement roused Integra from her slumber. The leader of Hellsing was quicker to come to her senses then Kasumi. When she saw Kasumi sitting up and looking at her, Integra's reaction was immediate.

Integra left her seat and embraced Kasumi; she wrapped her arms around Kasumi and hugged her close to herself. "I was so worried for you!" Integra told her as she kept Kasumi in her arms. "I was afraid that we hadn't been in time…"

"Now, now…it's alright little sister." Kasumi said as she stroked Integra's back soothingly. After a few seconds, Integra seemed to relax and her grip on Kasumi loosened. "I'm fine now, no need to worry but where's Ranma? Did he wake up earlier than I did?" The mention of Ranma made Integra tighten her grip once more which caused Kasumi to worry. "Where's Ranma? Did something happen to him!"

Integra released her grip on Kasumi and looked at her worried sister. "Ranma…he…something happened when Alucard turned him." She said to Kasumi, trying to calm her. "According to Alucard…he was in time and managed to turn Ranma. However…a few minutes after he did…well…I believe it'll be best to show you." Integra stood up, absently straightening her dress. "He's still outside, Alucard and Ceres are keeping an eye on Ranma while he…deals with whatever it is that is happening to him."

Kasumi quickly stood up and rushed out of the room. Integra followed behind her, a few steps behind Kasumi as she ran out of the mansion and back to where, just a few short hours ago, a pack of Wolf Freaks had killed her. Kasumi came to a stop when she neared the spot where she had been killed. Integra stopped next to her as Kasumi gazed at where Ranma had been when Alucard had turned him. The area of the ground had been replaced by a sphere of darkness mixed with swirls of color. Kasumi watched as clouds of blue and red mixed with the blackness of the sphere which she assumed surrounded Ranma.

Next to the sphere, a few feet away, stood Alucard and Ceres. The red clad vampire was peering intently at the sphere as if he could see what was happening inside it. Ceres, on the other hand, was holding a large cannon like weapon as if it was a rifle and was keeping it aimed at the sphere. Kasumi only glanced briefly at the two of them before she returned her attention towards the sphere. The worried woman never even realized that there were also several squads of Hellsing soldiers surrounding them all. Kasumi was so absorbed in her concern and worry for Ranma that the sight of soldiers prepared to open fire on the sphere didn't even register in her mind.

"What's going on? What happened to Ranma?" Kasumi asked out loud, her voice laced with worry as she took a closer step towards the sphere.

Alucard narrowed his eyes as he noticed the blue and red clouds had pooled on the side closest to Kasumi when she had spoken. "He's inside…but he doesn't seem to be alone." He answered her as he walked to Kasumi's side.

"What do you mean? What's Ranma doing in there?" Kasumi turned away from the sphere to look at Alucard. "Will he be alright?"

"He'll be fine; he's almost done and will be coming out of it soon." Alucard looked at the sphere with an amused smile as he saw it begin to be sucked into itself. "He's even more interesting in person than I thought. Things will be getting very interesting from now on…heh heh heh."

Kasumi ignored his words as she watched the sphere shrink and then settle into Ranma's form. She gasped with surprise when she saw him. His skin was a little paler but other than that he looked unchanged except for his clothes. They now looked brand new; his normal chinese shirt was now a blood red color and his pants were as dark as night as were the boots he now wore. The bracers which he normally wore were now metallic and appeared to be a darker red then his shirt. What shocked Kasumi was what she saw resting on him as he lay on the ground.

Comfortably snuggled up against his chest on his left side was a small red haired girl who appeared to be roughly six or maybe seven years old. She was dressed similarly to Ranma and also wore her hair in the same pigtail style he did. Her skin was just as pale as Ranma's and she had a certain family resemblance to him. Everyone noticed that the girl's ears were slightly pointed and that she had fangs as she slept with her mouth open. A large red furred tiger with black stripes was also present. Its head was resting on top of Ranma's stomach. Most of the soldiers gulped and trained their weapons on the fearsome beast since it was at least the size of a motorcycle with a purr to match the engine of one.

Integra looked at Ranma, the small girl and the tiger with some shock on her face. She turned to address Alucard and missed seeing Kasumi approaching Ranma on his right side. "Alucard, explain just what's going on here. Where did the girl and the tiger come from?"

Alucard answered Integra as Kasumi knelt next to Ranma and the tiger. "I believe the tiger is Ranma's familiar although this is the first time I've ever heard of a vampire ever summoning one so soon." Alucard watched as Kasumi caressed Ranma's cheek tenderly, causing the young man to stir. "I don't know who the girl is though…however I do know that she's a vampire…and a living one at that. I can hear her heart beating even though I can clearly sense that she's a true vampire, not one who was turned."

Ceres had stepped closer to them as Alucard had been speaking and she gasped with surprise at his words. "Is that even possible Master? A living vampire…does that mean she'll be able to grow older as well? She won't be stuck as a child like Helena was?"

"I suspect so…" He nodded as he watched Ranma start to sit up, apparently not having realized that the girl and the tiger were resting on top of him. He may not have even felt their weight thanks to his now enhanced strength although Alucard privately suspected Ranma wouldn't have felt weighed down by them even back when he had still been human. "Turned vampires don't age because physically they're already dead. Their bodies return to the state they were in when they were turned when they regenerate. That is why Helena was trapped in the body of a child. You and my Master will always retain your youthful appearance because of this. The girl however…I believe she'll grow older and she'll be able to remain as young as she wants once she's mastered her vampiric powers and abilities."

When Ranma sat up, he dislodged the girl from his chest and the tigers head moved from his stomach to his lap. The little girl's head wound up sliding down next to the tigers head without waking up in the slightest. He barely noticed them and his mind didn't register their presence at all. The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was Kasumi's worried face looking down at him. The only thing he felt was the tender caress of her hand on his cheek. His mind quickly recalled what had happened before he blacked out. He glanced at her chest and saw the blood stains still present but where there had been a bloody bullet hole before was now healed skin.

He smiled at her with relief as he covered the hand that was still pressed against his cheek with one of his own hands. "It worked…we're still together Kas-chan."

"Yes we are Ranma!" Kasumi replied to him, her voice thick with emotion. She embraced him as best she could in their current positions and buried her face against his chest, soaking them with tears of relief.

Ranma could hear his love murmuring repeated 'I love you's softly as she continued to cry. Everyone in Nerima would have been surprised to see his reaction at that moment. Instead of breaking out into a panic as he used to do whenever any girl even threatened to break out in tears, Ranma smiled softly and stroked the back of Kasumi's head. He ran his fingers through her hair while he whispered quiet reassurances into her ear. Integra and Ceres watched the two of them a little enviously and the both of them gave a quiet sigh at the tender scene before them although Integra was less obvious then the blonde vampire near her. It wouldn't do for her people to think she was going soft after all.

Alucard blinked rapidly a few times as an image of himself and Integra in the same position as Ranma and Kasumi were in at the moment flashed briefly through his mind. The sudden image had come from Integra subconsciously through the link they shared. Ceres' link conveyed a sense of longing and a touch of envy mixed in with an image of her Harkonnen which confused the vampire greatly. He mentally shook off his confusion at what his links to Integra and Ceres were telling him. He approached the newly turned vampires and stopped a few steps away from them.

He grinned at them and his grin widened when Ranma looked up at him. "I knew you were an interesting human…Ranma…but you're even more interesting as a vampire than even I had imagined."

Ranma blinked and a look of confusion spread over his face. Kasumi had finally stopped crying and had composed herself. She let go of Ranma and leaned back a little. She giggled at, what she felt, was the cute look of confusion on Ranma's face. Several of the females watching Ranma at that moment including Ceres and Integra privately thought the same thing. Alucard suppressed the sudden urge he had to attack Ranma. "Huh? What are you talking about?" He asked with a puzzled tone as he didn't understand what Alucard was talking about. "What's so interesting?"

The small redhead that had been sleeping soundlessly on Ranma's lap chose that moment to wake up. She sleepily sat up, rubbing her eyes with her hands. She gave a cute yawn before looking at Ranma and Kasumi, her red eyes blinked twice before she glomped the both of them the best she could with her little arms. "Mommy! Daddy!" She cried out happily in accented English. Her accent had hints of Japanese and Chinese intermixed in it. "Good morning!"

"Mommy?" Kasumi repeated with a large blush on her face and a growing smile. She brought her hands to the sides of her face and looked at Ranma.

"Daddy!" Ranma repeated, looking shocked and close to panic. He turned his head to look at Kasumi with wide open eyes.

---To Be Continued---

R-Kives: There we go, after three months or so, a new chapter! I'm sorry for taking so long to update but a small case of writers block and pc problems stopped me.

Arcee: We've still got pc problems though… (She's no longer chained up but she's wearing glowing handcuffs instead. She's holding a folder marked 'Updates for MMSS')

R-Kives: As for my other story, I've almost finished the next update for it so it should be ready for everyone soon…like less than a month from now eheh heh…again I apologize to everyone for taking so long and I'd like to thank ClanCrusher for their errr encouragement to continue.

Arcee: Oh yeah and if anyone has any suggestions for names for lil' Red and Ranma-sama's familiar then we'd love to hear them!

R-Kives: (He turns to her with a frown) They don't need to give any suggestions! I've already got names for those two!

Arcee: But you're terrible with giving names! We'd be better off asking the readers for suggestions then going with the ones you decided on…sir.

R-Kives: Oh no! No! No! No! (He shakes his head) No more votes or anything like that! I'm still trying to figure how to solve the voting problem for MMSS.

Arcee: You mean 'The Ranma Rangers', that's the title that got the most votes, remember?

R-Kives: Most of those votes came in after the poll was closed! It wouldn't be fair to everyone who voted in the right timeframe to include the votes that came in after the poll was closed.

Arcee: What's not fair would be NOT including all the votes that came in!

R-Kives: You're just saying that because the title you wanted is the one that would end up winning!

Arcee: Well you don't want to include them because then your title would lose so how is that fair!

R-Kives: It'd be fair because those votes came in while the poll was still open! (He turns to the audience) I'm sorry about all this; me and my ASSISTANT need to discuss the votes further…in the meantime, enjoy this short omake from me and don't worry, the next update for 'Mighty Morphin' Sailor Senshi' will be out soon!

Arcee: Yes the Ranma Rangers will be updated soon and don't forget to send in your suggestions for names!

R-Kives: Ignore the ravings of my delusional assistant and I hope all of you enjoyed this chapter of To Fly Free in Shadows.

---Omake---

Skuld fumed as she finished watching the last episode of the second version of the anime based on Keiichi's misadventures. "Argh! I can't believe it! I'm still being shown as some whining childish brat and big sister came off as an airhead! Though they nailed Urd's character pretty good…"

"That's because I talked with the writers for the second series personally, oh ho ho ho!" Urd said as she took another swig from her bottle of sake. "Ah! Now that's the good stuff! Besides, that was how you acted back then anyway so you can't really complain." Skuld glared at her other big sister and stuck out her tongue at Urd. "Now that's really mature Skuld."

"Where is big sister anyway? I haven't seen her since her wedding with Keiichi…and that was four years ago!"

"They're still on their honeymoon, last I heard, those two were headed to a nudist colony for a year." Urd grinned at the blushing red face of her little sister after she was told that information.

"Nu,nu,nudist colony!" Blood gushed out of Skuld's nose and she fainted backwards onto the couch.

Urd grinned and finished off her sake. Poor Skuld was never quite the same after she had spied on Keiichi and Belldandy's wedding night. Urd had found Skuld hiding in her room, under her covers with tissues stuffed up her nose the next day. It had taken two months before Skuld had stopped running away in terror from any guy who came so much as ten feet close to her. Then it had taken another month before Urd could get her to stop trying to blow up any guy that came within ten feet of her with her 'Skuld Bombs'.

In the end, Urd had had to drag Skuld, kicking and screaming, into her room and educate her about the birds, the bees and the many ways nature could take its course. After that week of education at Urd's hands, Skuld had stopped her attacks and had started nose bleeding and fainting at the thought of sex and nudity instead. Urd really hoped her little sister would grow out of it soon. She didn't want Skuld to wind up like that poor Aoyoma girl after all.

When Motoko had wished she could see just what was so special about a wedding night anyway, Urd had shown her. Then the next week, Motoko had run off to the Hinata Inn. In retrospect it had probably been a bad idea to give her dreams about her big sisters wedding night…but Urd had been passing through and wanted to help. Although it would have gone better if Urd hadn't been roaring drunk at the time not to mention very horny as well…poor Motoko…

---Omake end---


End file.
